Pakistan Star Fakhar Zaman's 'Rain Admission' As Pakistan Keep In World Cup Semi-final Race Alive

After playing a match-winning century against New Zealand, Pakistan opening batter Fakhar Zaman revealed that his side was "praying" for no resumption of the games during the second rain break in the encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. Pakistan beat New Zealand by 21 runs on DLS in a high-scoring rain-effected match in Bengaluru. Babar Azam and Zaman's phenomenal fireworks at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium helped Pakistan beat New Zealand on DLS in a high-scoring rain-effected match and keep their chances of qualification alive in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

A sensational partnership between Zaman and Azam inspired Pakistan to 200/1 after 25.3 overs, ahead of the required rate when the rain ended the match early.

"We were chasing 400 and that was our plan, just to see off the first 4 overs and thankfully it was my day. To be honest, I was lucky a few times but really enjoyed this inning. We know every game is a do-or-die for us and we have decided to play aggressively and we are playing with that mind so everybody is just trying to score runs," Zaman said during a post-match presentation.

He went on to say that Pakistan was hoping the game would not resume after the second rain delay. After the weather caused the game in Bengaluru to be called off, Pakistan was rewarded with a win. Zaman stated that they wanted to play aggressively and will continue to do so throughout the competition.

"We were also praying that we didn't want any more games to happen (while waiting anxiously in the dressing room during the rain break) because it was already 9 and half hours and we knew that DLS would come into the equation. We wanted to play with that aggressive mindset and we will play aggressively in the